The Washburn Yellowstone Expedition, No. I [pp. 431-437]

434 THE WA,SHBURV YELLOWSTOVE EXPEDITIONV. [MAY,
heart by that name, somewhere in the
States. Another of the Party was in favor of the name of Minaret (Minnie
Rhett); but that was too apparent, and
he was outvoted.
The following day the party struck
across the country to the soutJ, cutting
off a large bend in the river, and then
passed to the right of a high mountain,
which some of the party ascended. It
was found to be the highest peak in that
section, a barometrical observation showing it to be IO,700 feet high. In honor
of General Washburn, whom we had
elected Captain of the expedition, we
named it "IMount Washburn."
About four o'clock we camped by a
small, clear, cold brook, flowing through
a grassy upland opening, and, just below
us, entering a thick, gloomy forest, which
continued to the Yellowstone, about three
miles distant. In exploring the creek
toward the river, when about a mile from
camp, we came suddenly to a small opening on a steep bill-side, where we found
a number of hot springs. There were
four quite prominent, besides a number
of smaller ones. I can not describe
them better than by quoting from a description given by Mr. Hedges to a local
paper. He spent some time in giving
them a thorough examination:
" The westernmost spring had an ovalshaped basin, twenty by forty feet in
diameter. Its greenish-yellowwaterwas
hot, and bubbles of steam or gas were
constantly rising from various parts of
its surface. This spring, with two others, was situated in about an east and
west line, and at the upper side of the
basin, which opened south, toward the
creek. The central one of these three
was the largest of all, and was in constant, violent agitation, like a seethlaing
caldron over a fiery furnace. The water
was often thrown higher than our heads,
and fearful volumes of stifling, sulphureous vapors were constantly escaping.
The water was of a dark-lead color, and
intensely hot. As near as I now recollect, the basin of this spring was about
thirty feet in diameter. There was very
little water flowing away from it, and
very little deposit from its overflowings
was visible. It had no such mound as
many that we saw subsequently, nor was
its margin of such solid material. The
easternmost and uppermost spring was
not as large in its crater as its near
neighbors, but was more infernal to look
at, and suggested the name that we attached to the springs..... The substance was not as thick as mud, but
rather beyond the consistency of soup,
and was in constant, noisy ebullition,
emitting fumes of villainous smell. The
margin was not safe for close approach
but I ventured near enough to thrust a
pine sapling into the substance of this
infernal kettle, and on pulling it out
found it covered about one-fourthl of an
inch thick with a lead-colored, sulphlury
slime. Nothing flows away in liquid
form from this spring. It seems to be
boiling down, and will doubtless become
thick as pudding, like so many that we
afterward saw.... So secluded is this
cluster of springs, that it would be impossible to suppose it to have ever been
seen before by any White Man; and it
appeared to us the merest chance that
directed our steps hither. How many
similar basins are hidden away among
the vast forests that cover this region
we can best conceive, who have seen
scores of them without turning much
from our direct course."
We reached the falls of the Yellowstone on the morning of August 30th.
These falls, two in number, are less
than half a mile apart. From the lake
to the upper falls, a distance of about
twenty miles, the river flows, with the
exception of a short series of rapids
having a moderate current, through an
open, undulating country, gently sloping
toward the stream. Here and there are
small groves, and the timber is quite.